1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a water well pump.
2. Background Information
All too often, water is taken for granted. Most well pumps last for years, and homeowners never give much thought to hard-working pumps that faithfully kick in every time a homeowner takes a shower, does laundry, or runs the dishwasher. Well pumps are the modern day equivalent of windmills, which were used to move water from one place to another over one hundred years ago. Like windmills, well pumps are particularly handy for irrigating crops, providing livestock with water, supplying water to remote locations, or for acting as heating and cooling mechanisms for geothermal systems. There are two general types of well pumps: submersible and jet.
About sixty percent of home wells in the U.S. use electric submersible pumps. Submersible well pumps are used underwater in wells. A small electric motor may be installed in the well shaft, usually below the pump itself, and an electric cable is attached to the motor. Piping is then fitted from the pump, through the length of the shaft and into the home. Submersible well pumps may be set hundreds of feet deep to the water in a well. When the pump is activated, the motor pushes water up out of the well. Submersible pumps are long cylinders usually three to five inches in diameter and two to four feet long. Well pumps may be powered by alternating current (AC), solar power, wind power, water power, or even manually.
One type of submersible pump is a reciprocating plunger well pump. Various designs of reciprocating plunger well pumps have been developed of the general type wherein the pump is mounted at the lower distal end of an elongated well tubing string and includes a reciprocating plunger or piston connected to an elongated rod extending to an actuating mechanism at the earth's surface. The pumps also include a cylinder in which the plunger reciprocates to displace fluid from a plunger cavity and is controlled by cavity inlet and discharge valves mounted on the cylinder and on the plunger, respectively.
In spite of the relatively highly developed state of the art in reciprocating plunger well pumps, certain problems in the operation of these pumps persist. In particular, when pumps are stopped, water hammer develops, which is an unwanted noisy and shaking condition of the pump. Further, the balls in many pumps are steel. Therefore, when the seat that the ball rests on becomes worn and damaged by the constant beating from the ball, erosion from abrasives, corrosion, chipping, or flaking, the steel balls cannot seal the pump and there is unwanted water leakage. Further, there are many instances when water well pumps must be assembled and installed in a short amount of time such as in emergency situations and field operations using materials available in the given area and usually without electricity. The unique design of the present invention allows it to be made and used in a short amount of time and requires no electricity or adaptors to assemble which is in direct contrast to the prior art.
Efforts to eliminate the above-mentioned problems while providing a well pump which is inexpensive to manufacture and is reliable in operation have not been entirely successful and further improvements in such pumps have long been sought. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed for use in water wells and oil wells.